2020 has officially been the year of uncertainty, a theme that experts expect to continue well into next year. While organizations seem to have adapted to the “new normal,” IT decision-makers (ITDMs) may soon need to pivot again, with some businesses returning to their offices as early as Q2 2021. The potential for hybrid work environments with some employees staying remote, others going back to the office, and some preferring to work from home a couple of days each week could create challenges and needs that require new tools in addition to ones recently put in place.
Despite a certain level of ongoing unpredictability, a number of trends have emerged as a result of the “remote work revolution” that B2B tech marketers must plan for. SWZD’s deep relationships with millions of IT buyers around the globe provide us with continuous feedback about businesses’ technology plans and areas of investment. We’ve compiled some of these insights into a list of tech trends and predictions for 2021, including ways for B2B tech marketers to leverage them. You can view the full list here.
2021 Business and Technology Predictions
- More than half of businesses will maintain flexible work-from-home policies on a permanent basis, even after the COVID-19 crisis ends, dramatically altering tech priorities and spending plans.
For marketers, this means: Explore ways you can help IT decision-makers solve the challenge of a potentially hybrid work environment and incorporate it into your messaging and content strategy. - Even though the buying frenzy to support the shift to remote work has largely passed, tech spending will continue well into the future. In Q3 of 2020, 54% of companies still needed to make further IT investments to support remote employees.
For marketers, this means: There is still opportunity to reach businesses that are in-market for your product and services. Use a combination of first- and third-party data to target in-market prospects early in the buyer’s journey with the right message at the right time. - COVID-19 and the remote work revolution will accelerate cloud migration efforts in 35% of organizations. Cloud spending will continue to grow, rising to 24% of IT budgets in 2021 — up significantly from 21% in 2019.
For marketers, this means: Many IT buyers are more receptive to cloud-based solutions and a “cloud-first” approach. As decision makers re-evaluate their IT strategies, IT vendors will have opportunities to win new business. - Communication styles and requirements are shifting; 37% of employees now prefer business chat apps over email, and adoption of secure and unified communications platforms will grow by more than 10% over the next two years.
For marketers, this means: There’s a pivotal change happening in workplace communications, especially with internal collaboration tools. How can you help support ITDMs and the buying collective when exploring or implementing these technologies? Marketers should experiment with new ways to connect with prospects, who are increasingly using tools like Slack and Zoom to communicate with colleagues, customers and partners. However, don’t underestimate the power of email. There could be an opportunity to increase the open rates of external emails due to a lower volume of internal email messages. - Because many organizations aren’t adequately securing work-from-home environments, cyberattacks on remote workers and devices are predicted to increase by 20 to 40%, with typically under-resourced small businesses being more vulnerable.
For marketers, this means: Security remains a top challenge to overcome and a key consideration when evaluating vendors and technology solutions. Be sure to address this in your messaging and mid- to bottom-of-the-funnel content.
These are just a few of the many insights we drew from our SWZD research data. You can go to 13 Business and Technology Predictions for 2021 to learn about other business and technology trends that we describe in greater detail in our infographic.
Ultimately, you can’t predict the future, especially these days, but the next best thing is to make an educated guess based on the data we have available to us — including our cutting-edge data that identifies business and technology trends as they emerge. Contact us to discuss opportunities to refine your messaging to target ITDMs with the right message at the right time!